Trump, Xi meeting ends after around 90 minutes of trade talks
Details of the framework deal have trickled out in the days since the talks in Malaysia
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up their highly-anticipated summit after around an hour and a half on Thursday (Oct 30), concluding talks they hoped would quell an expansive trade fight that has shaken global markets.
Xi and Trump could be seen shaking hands at the end of the talks before walking together out from the meeting at an air base in Busan, South Korea, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. Following the talks, Trump took off aboard Air Force One to return to Washington while Xi continued on to Apec.
Trump predicted “a very successful meeting” as talks kicked off.
Xi and Trump were expected to hammer out the details of a framework agreement, negotiated over the weekend in Malaysia, that would see the Chinese pause a rare-earths licensing regime for at least a year, resume soybean purchases and make progress on combating fentanyl in exchange for lower US tariffs and potentially other concessions.
“I think we have already agreed to a lot of things, and will agree to some more right now,” Trump said, adding that he believed completing a deal was possible. “I think we are going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.”
Xi told Trump that he felt “very warm seeing you again” and said he was “ready to continue working with you to build a solid foundation for China-US relations”.
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“We do not always see eye-to-eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then,” Xi said. “And in the face of wind, waves and challenges, you and I, at the helm of Chinese relations, should stay the right course and ensure the steady sailing forward of the giant ship of China-US relations.”
Both leaders praised each other as the meeting opened, with Trump labelling Xi a “very tough negotiator” and “a great leader of a great country”.
Xi lauded Trump’s efforts to resolve global conflicts, including in Gaza and South-east Asia, saying the two nations can “jointly shoulder our responsibility as major countries and work together to accomplish more” in pursuit of peace. China’s leader also nodded to Trump’s signature campaign slogan.
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“I always believe that China’s development goes hand in hand with your vision to Make America Great Again,” Xi said.
The outcome is poised to resolve, at least for now, months of trade brinkmanship in which the world’s two largest economies have threatened a series of levies and export controls on their products.
Still, it’s likely to fall short of a fulsome agreement that addresses issues at the heart of the US-China economic competition.
Many of those around the table for the Trump-Xi meeting had participated in earlier rounds of negotiations.
On the American side, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and US Ambassador to China David Perdue were at the table.
For the Chinese, Vice-Premier He Lifeng, Xi’s chief of staff Cai Qi, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu were in attendance.
Details of the framework deal have trickled out in the days since the talks in Malaysia, and suggest Xi may have won important tariff relief in exchange for temporary concessions. There was no immediate public comment from either leader on whether progress was made.
Trump on Wednesday predicted that he’d reduce the 20 per cent tariff he placed on Chinese goods over exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, suggesting Beijing may be able to secure a rate of duty on many goods that keeps the country competitive with other regional manufacturing rivals.
Nvidia chips
That reduction would come in addition to the US scrapping plans for a 100 per cent tariff Trump had threatened to implement on Nov 1, as well as export controls on a broad swath of critical software. Trump’s administration is expected to roll back levies and fees hitting Chinese ships. The president has also hinted he’d likely abandon a probe into whether China was abiding by a broader trade deal from his first term.
The Chinese are also planning to push for Washington to roll back a rule that exposes subsidiaries that are at least 50 per cent owned by blacklisted firms to the same curbs as their sanctioned parent. The regulations have placed due diligence burdens on exporters.
Trump on Wednesday added a new wrinkle to the talks, suggesting he’d be willing to discuss access to Nvidia’s flagship Blackwell AI processor. That would represent a major concession and likely anger national-security hawks in Washington.
The major concession from the Chinese side is a promise to delay an expanded rare-earths licensing regime for at least a year, with a pledge to reevaluate the program during that period.
Beijing has used the restrictions as a cudgel in the trade talks, threatening to restrict access for US and allied manufacturers to critical minerals necessary for high-tech manufacturing of smartphones, jet engines and other widely used products.
Soybeans, TikTok
China is also resuming soybean purchases, with the country booking shipments for at least two cargoes of the American crop, its first known purchase this season, according to sources familiar with the matter. That provides a political victory for Trump, who has seen farmers in his political base suffer as they have been unable to offload an agricultural glut.
Xi is also expected to approve the sale of the US operations of ByteDance’s TikTok social video app to a consortium put together by the Trump administration. Trump has credited the app with boosting his appeal with young voters and helping return him to the White House.
Trump is also expected to pressure Xi to curtail support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, with US officials describing plans to discuss a global peace accord. Washington may ask Beijing to curtail the sale of so-called dual use items.
Trump highlighted recently a drop in Chinese purchases of Russian oil that followed US sanctions on Russian firms.
But few expect serious intervention from the Chinese, who have sidled closer to Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine.
Trump, for his part, signalled a determination ahead of the meeting to take the issue of Taiwan off the table, even after saying recently that for Xi, the self-governing island is the “apple of his eye”. China has sought an official US declaration that it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, rather than simply saying American officials “do not support” such a move. BLOOMBERG, AFP
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